Baldofski Sabrina, Scheider Jelena, Kohls Elisabeth, Klemm Sarah-Lena, Koenig Julian, Bauer Stephanie, Moessner Markus, Kaess Michael, Eschenbeck Heike, Lehner Laya, Becker Katja, Krämer Jennifer, Diestelkamp Silke, Thomasius Rainer, Rummel-Kluge Christine
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2024 Jul 15;18(1):84. doi: 10.1186/s13034-024-00775-3.
Mental health problems, such as depression, have a high prevalence in young people. However, the majority of youths suffering from depression do not seek professional help. This study aimed to compare help-seeking behavior, intentions and perceived barriers between youthswith different levels of depressive symptoms.
This cross-sectional study is part of a large-scale, multi-center project. Participants were n = 9509 youths who were recruited in German schools and completed a baseline screening questionnaire. Based on their depressive symptoms, youths were allocated to the following three subgroups: (a) without depressive symptoms, (b) with subclinical symptoms, (c) with clinical symptoms (measured by PHQ-A). Quantitative analyses compared previous help-seeking behavior, help-seeking intentions and perceived barriers (Barriers questionnaire) between these subgroups. An additional exploratory qualitative content analysis examined text answers on other perceived barriers to help-seeking.
Participants were mostly female (n = 5575, 58.6%) and 12 to 24 years old (M = 15.09, SD 2.37). Participants with different levels of depressive symptoms differed significantly in help-seeking behavior, intentions and perceived barriers. Specifically, participants with clinical depressive symptoms reported more previous help-seeking, but lower intentions to seek help compared to participants without symptoms (all p < 0.05). Participants with subclinical depressive symptoms reported a similar frequency of previous help-seeking, but higher intentions to seek help compared to participants without symptoms (all p < 0.05). Perception of barriers was different across subgroups: participants with clinical and subclinical depressive symptoms perceived the majority of barriers such as stigma, difficulties in accessibility, and family-related barriers as more relevant than participants without depressive symptoms. Across all subgroups, participants frequently mentioned intrapersonal reasons, a high need for autonomy, and a lack of mental health literacy as barriers to help-seeking.
Youths with higher levels of depressive symptoms are more reluctant to seek professional help and perceive higher barriers. This underlines the need for effective and low-threshold interventions to tackle barriers, increase help-seeking, and lower depressive symptoms in adolescents and young adults differing in depression severity.
DRKS00014685.
抑郁症等心理健康问题在年轻人中普遍存在。然而，大多数患有抑郁症的年轻人并未寻求专业帮助。本研究旨在比较不同抑郁症状水平的年轻人在寻求帮助行为、意愿及感知障碍方面的差异。
本横断面研究是一个大规模多中心项目的一部分。参与者为n = 9509名在德国学校招募的年轻人，他们完成了一份基线筛查问卷。根据抑郁症状，年轻人被分为以下三个亚组：（a）无抑郁症状，（b）有亚临床症状，（c）有临床症状（通过PHQ - A测量）。定量分析比较了这些亚组之间既往的寻求帮助行为、寻求帮助意愿及感知障碍（障碍问卷）。另外一项探索性定性内容分析研究了关于其他寻求帮助感知障碍的文本回答。
参与者大多为女性（n = 5575，58.6%），年龄在12至24岁之间（M = 15.09，标准差2.37）。不同抑郁症状水平的参与者在寻求帮助行为、意愿及感知障碍方面存在显著差异。具体而言，与无症状参与者相比，有临床抑郁症状的参与者报告的既往寻求帮助行为更多，但寻求帮助的意愿更低（所有p < 0.05）。与无症状参与者相比，有亚临床抑郁症状的参与者报告的既往寻求帮助频率相似，但寻求帮助的意愿更高（所有p < 0.05）。各亚组对障碍的感知不同：有临床和亚临床抑郁症状的参与者认为大多数障碍，如污名化、可及性困难及家庭相关障碍，比无抑郁症状的参与者更为相关。在所有亚组中，参与者经常提到个人原因、高度的自主需求及缺乏心理健康素养是寻求帮助的障碍。
抑郁症状水平较高的年轻人更不愿意寻求专业帮助，且感知到更高的障碍。这凸显了需要采取有效且低门槛的干预措施来消除障碍、增加寻求帮助行为，并降低不同抑郁严重程度的青少年和年轻人的抑郁症状。
DRKS00014685。
